Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain and more grunge musicians who died too soon

Chris Cornell, Kurt Cobain and other grunge musicians who died too soon

By Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

The loss of Soundgarden singer and grunge icon Chris Cornell, who died Wednesday at 52, has inspired an outpouring of grief among fans of alternative rock music. Other artists who died too soon include Alice in Chains' Layne Staley, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon and more.

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Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell died suddenly and unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 18, after a Detroit concert with Soundgarden. Police say the cause of death appears to be suicide.

The 52-year-old grunge icon was the powerful voice of hits like "Black Hole Sun," "The Day I Tried to Live," and "Burden in My Hand." He also performed with Audioslave, Temple of the Dog and had a prolific solo career.

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Layne Staley

The Alice in Chains singer-guitarist died in 2002 at age 34 after a history of drug problems. The band's hits included "Rooster" and "Man in the Box."

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Mike Starr

The Alice in Chains bassist died of a heroin overdose in 2011.

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Kurt Cobain

The troubled Nirvana frontman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1994 at age 27. Cobain was one of the biggest names in grunge rock at the time, thanks to hits like "Come As You Are," "Lithium" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

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Kristen Pfaff

The Buffalo native and bassist for Courtney Love's band Hole died of a drug overdose in 1994 at age 27.

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Andrew Wood

Wood was the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, whose members later formed Pearl Jam (with Eddie Vedder) and Temple of the Dog (with Cornell). Wood died in 1990 of a heroin overdose at age 24.

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Shannon Hoon

Best known for "No Rain," the Blind Melon singer died of a cocaine overdose in 1995 at age 28.

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Scott Weiland

The former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman died of a drug overdose in 2015 at 48. Weiland also released five solo albums.

STP dominated the alternative rock charts in the mid-to-late '90s with songs like "Plush," "Interstate Love Song" and "Vasoline."

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Doug Hopkins

The Gin Blossoms guitarist committed suicide in 1993 at age 32. The band's hits included "Hey Jealousy" and "Till I Hear it From You."

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John Baker Saunders

Saunders was the bassist for grunge supergroup Mad Season, which featured members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees. He died of a drug overdose in 1999 at 44.

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Natasha Shneider

The former Eleven singer performed with Queens of the Stone Age in the mid-2000s. She died of cancer at age 52 in 2008.

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Bradley Nowell

The Sublime frontman mixed ska, punk, reggae, grunge rock and hip-hop into short-lived musical magic until his 1995 death from a heroin overdose at age 28. The band's hits included "What I Got," "Santeria" and "Wrong Way."

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Wes Berggren

The Tripping Daisy guitarist died of a drug overdose in 1999 at age 28. The band split and singer Tim DeLaughter went on to form The Polyphonic Spree.

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Stefanie Sargent

Sargent was the lead guitarist of Seattle-based rock band 7 Year Bitch when she died in 1992 of asphyxiation after vomiting from a night of drinking and drugs. She was 24.

Another 7 Year Bitch member, Lisa Faye Beatty, died in a 2011 car crash at 47.

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Mia Zapata

Zapata, the lead singer for Seattle band The Gits, was raped and murdered while walking home in 1993. She was 27.

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Jonathan Melvoin

Melvoin was a keyboardist for Prince's The Family and The Dickies. He died of a heroin overdose at age 34 in 1996 while touring with The Smashing Pumpkins.

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Grunge music curse?

The Guardian's Tim Jonze asked in 2011 if grunge music was the deadliest genre, following the death of Alice in Chains' Mike Starr. Many rock artists have died early deaths, including the famous 27 club -- Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse -- but grunge also features many tales of survival, like Cobain's widow Courtney Love, Screaming Trees' Mark Gonegan and The Lemonheads' Evan Dando.

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Other early deaths in alternative rock

Jeff Buckley died of an accidental drowning at 30 in 1996.

Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh died of heart failure in 2011 at 40.

Savatage's Criss Oliva died in a 1993 car accident at age 30.

MC5 singer Rob Tyner died of a heart attack in 1991 at 46.

Warrant singer Jani Lane died of acute alcohol poisoning in 2011 at age 47.

Original The Replacements guitarist Bob Stinson died in 1995 at 35.

Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser died of cancer in 2002 at 40.

Blues Traveler bassist Bobby Sheehan died of a drug overdose in 1999 at 31.

Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground died in 1995 at 53.

SR-71 bassist Jeff Reid died of lung cancer in 2004 at 36.

10,000 Maniacs guitarist Rob Buck died of liver disease in 2000 at 42.

Drowning Pool singer Dave Williams died of heart disease in 2002 at 30.

Dead Milkmen bassist Dave "Blood" Schulthise died of a drug overdose in 2004 at 47.

Social Distortion bassist Brent Liles died in a 2007 car accident at 43.

Beastie Boys bassist and rapper Adam "MCA" Yauch died in 2012 at 47.

The Killers saxophone player Tommy Marth committed suicide in 2012 at 33.

GWAR's Dave Brockie died in 2014 at 50 and Flattus Maximus died in 2011 at 34.